In a Land of Myth
by h2ofalcon
Summary: A series of drabbles and short stories from a land of myth and a time of magic featuring our favorite warlock and the Once and Future King.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I decided to extend this original one-shot into a short series of things I have already written. To be added to whenever I have time and inspiration. :)**

**Remember Me**

He had always felt like something was missing from his life. Something vital. Something to fill the void in his heart and the empty chasm at his side. Some nights, he woke up to utter darkness with a name on the tip of his tongue and memories pushing their way from the shadowy recesses at the back of his mind into consciousness. But then the more fiercely he tried to hold on to these fleeting memories, the more quickly they faded, until he was left with only the ghost of a familiar smile, a flash of red and gold, and a feeling of complete emptiness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Eternity**

"I'm so tired of being here  
Suppressed by all my childish fears  
And if you have to leave  
I wish that you would just leave  
your presence still lingers here  
And it won't leave me alone  
These wounds won't seem to heal  
This pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase  
When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears  
When you'd scream I'd fight away all of your fears  
And I held your hand through all of these years  
But you still have all of me  
You used to captivate me by your resonating light  
Now I'm bound by the life you left behind  
Your face—it haunts my once pleasant dreams  
Your voice—it chased away all the sanity in me  
These wounds won't seem to heal  
This pain is just too real  
There's just too much that time cannot erase."

-My Immortal by Evanescence-

Merlin was tired. Unbearably, inhumanly tired.

The dragon had promised him that someday Arthur would return, whenever Albion and the world needed him most. And he had. But it was never _really _him.

Merlin was always there for Arthur, at his king's side, as it had been his destiny to be from the dawn of time. But Arthur never remembered. Sometimes he would see the Once and Future King in the familiar fire that burned momentarily in the eyes of the hundreds of men that Merlin watched grow to accomplish great things; unsung heroes of the ages, yet still shadows of the man that was once Merlin's best friend. Golden hair would gleam in the sunlight; a fond, "idiot," here and a flash of that familiar impish smile there, and Merlin's heart would leap with unrivaled joy, his soul reaching eagerly out to reclaim the other half that had been lost to it for so long, hoping beyond hope that the time had come at last.

But there was only emptiness, the fading light a mere echo of what had once been.

The lake was silent the day _he _came. He came quietly, in the form of a young boy, almost identical to how he had looked the first time Merlin had met him, before Morgana had twisted his grief to her own benefit, yet the warlock still felt a spark of old anger struggling to ignite in the icy, empty cavern of his chest.

"Mordred."

"Emrys. It is time."

Merlin's hands shook violently. "No," he whispered. "It's not. It never will be. Arthur needs me."

Mordred's blank expression didn't waver. "Yes, he does."

And Merlin let out a gasp as the frigid metal slid between his ribs. "And now you shall join him for all eternity."

The warlock's vision darkened, the pain flaring and throbbing with the faltering beating of his heart. But somehow, he found he didn't mind at all. Arthur's voice echoed on the silent breeze, a ghostly caress ruffling his hair, and Merlin was whole again.

**A/N: Yeah... sorry for the angst-fest. I must have been in a REALLY bad mood when I wrote that one. School does that to you sometimes, I guess. :P**


	3. Chapter 3

They never say goodbye. Never; that would be like admitting that their unique odyssey of courage and justice, of a friendship, a brotherhood that transcends time and destiny itself, is over. And it is never truly over. Thousands of years, hundreds of lifetimes. Infinite breathless grins of relief at seeing the other again after what seems like an eternity to both men, countless tears shed when fate again tears them apart in an endless cycle of crippling incompleteness and then blazing glory, together as they were meant to be from the dawn of time; two parts of the same whole. The pain never fades. It's always just as raw and agonizing as the first time, like ripping the scar tissue from an old battle wound. They feel in their bones that the end is coming days before the inevitable separation, hear the whispering of the wind that reminds them that their time together is agonizingly limited. Destiny reunites them whilst the world needs them, but in the end, the two halves are hewn apart, to resume their eternal vigil. One returns to Avalon, the other waits, ever faithful, for his best friend to return. And Arthur always will. That's why they never say goodbye.

**A/N: Hey everyone! (No, I have NOT vanished off the face of the earth) I'm back! (sort of). Only finals left, and then I'm DONE with school! Yay! So yeah, I should REALLY be studying, but I had this idea that wouldn't leave me alone, so here it is. Hope you enjoy!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: By popular request, I have attempted exit my angsty comfort zone and write something humorous/lighthearted... so here is my best attempt. For inspiration I assigned myself six random words form an online generator, and this bit of craziness sort of built itself from there. (Hope you enjoy it, anthi35! :D) Please feel free to let me know what you think!**

Disasters, Drabbles, and Doilies (Part One)

Arthur should have known better than to touch the mysterious silver box sitting at the end of his bed. He really should have known better. And if Merlin ever found out about this… well he was never going to hear the end of it. Because now he was being crushed between a door and what felt like an enormous stack of towels in a closet heaven knows where, still holding the damn thing.

"Merlin, if this is your fault, I swear I'll put you in the stocks for a month, and make you polish all the kitchen silverware, and pick all the weeds on the training field by hand, and alphabetize all the books in the royal library and-"

The closet door swung open with a click to interrupt his list of extravagant punishments, and Arthur found himself standing face-to-face with an elderly lady clutching a teetering stack of crocheted doilies, who looked just about as confused as he felt.

"Erm… Hello," he managed awkwardly before the woman flung the linen to the side and enveloped him in a bone-crushing hug.

"What a godsend; they've sent you at last!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I can't wait to tell my granddaughter. She told me that I'd never get the hang of these computer things, but we'll show her, won't we? And I see you brought your own computer! Perfect!"

Arthur's head spun. Computers? What in the name of Camelot were computers? Where was he, and why did this woman smell like prunes? And most importantly; why on earth was she still hugging him? He tugged his way forcefully out of the woman's vise-like grip before side-stepping out into the hallway.

Blinking in the fluorescent light, Arthur realized the true extent of the trouble he was in. "So… I guess I should help you… with your computer? Maybe that's the only way they'll let me go back. Whoever they are."

The woman blinked owlishly at him from behind horn-rimmed glasses. "Sure but… sweetheart, what were you doing in the linen closet?"

The blood rushed to Arthur's face once again, and he fidgeted with the sleeve of his oddly comfortable tunic, which had a pocket in the front. It seemed they had taken his clothes as well. "Uhhh… Well… I was just… I must have taken a wrong turn somewhere."

That seemed to satisfy his new acquaintance. She flashed him a watery grin, grabbing his arm, and pulled him after her into an adjoining room, which featured a wooden table at its center. Everything just got weirder from there. The other side of the room housed a row of metallic-looking boxes, and a circular object hanging on the wall, with stick-like objects inside that were moving seemingly of their own volition. Magic! He recoiled slightly, placing the silver _computer_ down on the table and reaching for his sword, which for some reason, still hung at his side.

The old woman re-emerged with a plate of small, pastel-colored cakes stacked on top of each other and a pitcher of water. Rather than looking terrified at the broadsword gripped tightly in Arthur's fists, she beamed brightly, adopting a genuinely curious expression.

"Ooh, how magnificent! Are you a fencer, my dear? I just love well-rounded young people! Too many of them these days spend all their time glued to their phones and their "headbook," or whatever they call it," she informed him sagely. "But you don't need that pigsticker now; let me put it in the front hall for you."

Before Arthur could blink, the woman had snatched the sword from his grasp and was tottering her way over to the front door, not even flinching at the enormous weight. Arthur could only gape, speechless. Some sort of unnatural force was definitely at work here. Time to plan his escape route.

Just then, there was a loud knocking at the door and the faint sound of polite chatter as it was pulled open that grew louder as two pairs of footsteps approached. Arthur tensed, ready to defend himself from whatever was coming, weapon or no weapon. Now he know to the very depths of his soul that he was really and truly screwed.

Just when he thought his day couldn't get any more bizarre. "Merlin!?"

"Arthur!"

The old woman's smile widened. "You two really are a unique pair; unusual hobbies AND such beautiful, historic names! Just like the legends!"

Merlin's eyes widened comically as he looked at her askance. "Umm… m'lady… you wouldn't happen to know what the date is, would you?"

"And _so polite_ too!" she exclaimed. "Why today is June first, two thousand fifteen."

Merlin flinched visibly, and Arthur moved in to conceal his friend's odd reaction. "So… do you have your own computer? Or shall we use this one?" he asked, awkwardly nudging the laptop on the table.

"No, no! My granddaughter just gave me her old one. Let me go fetch it; I'll only be a moment."

As she exited the room, Arthur and Merlin heard her muttering to herself, "My lucky day… two handsome young men to teach me the computer."

Arthur grabbed Merlin's arm and pulled him roughly to the table. "Do you know what this thing is?" he hissed. "And how did we get here anyway?"

"No," Merlin replied impatiently, "but we must have traveled in time somehow."

"Thanks for the ingenious deduction, idiot."

"Well I don't see you making any plans to get us out of here, you clotpole," Merlin snapped.

"You came from outside… Are there any ways for us to escape?"

"Nope. With our typical utter lack of good luck we are stranded in some old lady's house in the middle of the wilderness. There's nothing for miles. Not even trees. Just grass and rocks…"

The woman returned with a fresh blast of prune-scented perfume. While Arthur gagged, Merlin hurriedly flipped the laptop open. "So, m'lady. Would you like to show us what you know so far about this… computer?"

"I would love to!" she replied, pressing a flashing circular button. Merlin hurried to imitate her, and Arthur pinched the bridge of his nose to alieve the rapidly-growing headache he could feel building at the base of his skull. What on earth were they going to do?

**A/N: To be continued... :)**


End file.
